The University of Ibadan, Lagos State University, University of Lagos,and Covenant University have ranked among the top 1,000 universities in theworld. This was
contained in the 2021 Times Higher Education World University Ranking releasedon Wednesday.THE ranked UI, LASU, UNILAG as first, second, and third respectively inNigeria.
Privately-owned Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State, was ranked fourth;ahead of Federal Government-owned University of Nigeria, Nsukka, which camefifth; and Obafemi Awolowo University, sixth in Nigeria.
The University of Oxford tops the rankings for the fifth consecutiveyear, while mainland China’s Tsinghua University becomes the first Asianuniversity to break into the top 20 under the current methodology (launched in2011).
The US claims a record eight places in the top 10, after the Universityof California, Berkeley, climbed six places to seventh, but US universitiesoutside the top 200 show signs of decline.
There were 141 first-time entrants in the rankings this year, topped byFrance’s recently merged Paris-Saclay University (joint 178th).
India has the highest number of new entries (14) and as a result, boastsa record number of ranked institutions (63).
A breakdown of the ranking further showed that UI rose to the 401- 500bracket to overtake CU, which witnessed a drop from 2018’s 636 position toremain at the top 1,000.
CU was ranked as Nigeria’s best university in THE’s 2020 report afterusurping UI since 2018.
LASU placed between 501 and 600 bands, while UNILAG ranked 601–800.
UNN and OAU placed on figures exceeding 1,000.
Reacting, LASU in a press statement said, “The latest ranking follows aconsistent and meteoric rise in the local and international stock of theUniversity in the last five years of the Prof. Olanrewaju Fagbohun-ledadministration, thanks to the entrenchment of academic excellence, a culture ofcutting edgeresearch and enhanced community service.”
“This year, UNILAG took a leap from the range in which it was rankedlast year, 801–1,000, to a better range of 601–800. With continued dedicationand hard work, the University aims to gradually advance to being ranked amongthe top 10 best universities across the globe.
“Congratulations to members of the University community for the greatachievement. All are encouraged to continue contributing their quota to makethe University of Lagos great,” UNILAG added on its website.
The ranking showed that over 1,500 universities across 93 countries andregions across the world featured in 2021 THE World University Rankings.
“The rankings are based on 13 carefully calibrated performanceindicators that measure an institution’s performance across four areas:teaching, research, knowledge transfer, and international outlook.
“This year’s ranking analysed more than 80 million citations across over13 million research publications and included survey responses from 22,000scholars globally.
“Trusted worldwide by students, teachers, governments and industryexperts, this year’s league table provides great insight into the shiftingbalance of power in global higher education,” THE said on its website.
Summary of the six Nigerian universities in 2021 THE World University Rankings:
1. UI (401 – 500)
2. LASU (501 – 600)
3. UNILAG (601- 800)
4. Covenant University (801 – 1000)
5. UNN (1001+)
6. OAU (1001+)